Method and system for real-time reconciliation for unused content

ABSTRACT

A method and system includes a scheduling system generating a pre-break window and a post-break window and an automation system in communication with the scheduling system receiving a content signal and generating a deviation signal when an expected trigger for an insert material is not within the pre-break window or post-break window. The scheduling system reschedules the insert material in response to the deviation signal.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to television broadcasting, andmore particularly, to a method and apparatus for reconciliation ofunaired or unused insert material such as advertising when a breakwindow was missed in a signal such as a broadcast television signal.

BACKGROUND

The statements in this section merely provide background informationrelated to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

Satellite broadcasting of television signals has increased inpopularity. Satellite television providers continually offer more andunique services to their subscribers to enhance the viewing experience.Providing reliability in a satellite broadcasting system is therefore animportant goal of satellite broadcast providers. Providing reliablesignals reduces the overall cost of the system by reducing the number ofreceived calls at a customer call center.

Television providers often insert promotional material or commercialsinto various portions of a program. For cable television provider thisis done locally. Oftentimes, this is a manual process. Providing aconvenient and reliable method is desirable. Tracking the material istypically a manual process. However, a number of channels increasestracking content broadcast becomes cumbersome. Careful tracking isrequired so that the advertising sponsors may be properly billed.

In certain conditions the time for a particular insert material may bemissed. This may be due to an interruption in programming by a newsorganization or other factor. Although a particular time was desired,the sponsor may still want the insert aired.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a means for reconciling missed insertsby notifying the sponsor in real-time or by consulting business rulesprovided by the sponsor. This allows for a rapid rescheduling of insertsparticularly high value inserts. This can increase overall revenue froma system.

In one aspect of the disclosure, a method includes generating apre-break window and a post-break window, receiving a content signal,generating a deviation signal when an expected trigger for an insertmaterial is not within the pre-break window or post-break window andrescheduling the insert material.

In another aspect of the disclosure, a method includes storing insertmaterial in a content repository, assigning an insert materialidentification to the insert material, generating an insertion schedulehaving a pre-break window and a post-break window, communicating theinsertion schedule to the automation system, retrieving the insertionmaterial from the content repository and storing the content in theautomation system prior the pre-break window, communicating a contentsignal to the automation system, generating a deviation signal when anexpected trigger for the insert material is not within the pre-breakwindow or post-break window and rescheduling the insert material.

In yet another aspect of the disclosure, a system includes a schedulingsystem generating a pre-break window and a post-break window and anautomation system in communication with the scheduling system receivinga content signal and generating a deviation signal when an expectedtrigger for an insert material is not within the pre-break window orpost-break window. The scheduling system reschedules the insert materialin response to the deviation signal.

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the descriptionprovided herein. It should be understood that the description andspecific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and arenot intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and arenot intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.

FIG. 1 is an overall system view of a satellite communication system inthe continental United States.

FIG. 2 is a system view at the regional level of a satellite system.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are a block schematic view of the system illustrated inFIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 is a block diagrammatic view of a second embodiment of a systemillustrated in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a method of inserting insertion material intoa channel signal.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a first embodiment of monitoring a channelsignal.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a first embodiment of monitoring a channelsignal.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart of a method for monitoring a break anddiscontinuing insertion material according to one embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart of a method for forming an as-run log.

FIG. 10 is a view of an as-run log.

FIGS. 11A-C are a simplified screen view of as run logs.

FIG. 12 is a detailed flow chart of a method for forming an as-run log.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of a method for reconciling a missed insert.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is notintended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. Itshould be understood that throughout the drawings, correspondingreference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features.

As used herein, the term module, circuit and/or device refers to anApplication Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, aprocessor (shared, dedicated, or group) and memory that execute one ormore software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit,and/or other suitable components that provide the describedfunctionality. As used herein, the phrase at least one of A, B, and Cshould be construed to mean a logical (A or B or C), using anon-exclusive logical or. It should be understood that steps within amethod may be executed in different order without altering theprinciples of the present disclosure.

The present disclosure is described with respect to a satellitetelevision system. However, the present disclosure may have various usesincluding satellite transmission and data transmission and reception forhome or business uses. The system may also be used in a cable system orwireless terrestrial communication system for generating an outputsignal.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a communication system 10 includes a satellite12 that includes at least one transponder 13. Typically, multipletransponders are in a satellite. The communication system 10 includes acentral facility 14 and a plurality of regional facilities 16A, 16B,16C, 16D, 16E and 16F. Although only one satellite is shown, more thanone is possible. The regional facilities 16A-16F may be located atvarious locations throughout a landmass 18 such as the continentalUnited States, including more or less than those illustrated. Theregional facilities 16A-16F uplink various uplink signals 17 tosatellite 12. The satellites downlink downlink signals 19 to varioususers 20 that may be located in different areas of the landmass 18. Theusers 20 may be mobile or fixed users. The uplink signals 17 may bedigital signals such as digital television signals or digital datasignals. The digital television signals may be high definitiontelevision signals. Uplinking may be performed at various frequenciesincluding Ka band. The present disclosure, however, is not limited to Kaband. However, Ka band is a suitable frequency example used throughoutthis disclosure. The central facility 14 may also receive downlinksignals 19 corresponding to the uplink signals 17 from the variousregional facilities and from itself for monitoring purposes. The centralfacility 14 may monitor the quality of all the signals broadcast fromthe system 10.

The central facility 14 may also be coupled to the regional facilitiesthrough a network such as a computer network having associatedcommunication lines 24A-24F. Each communication line 24A-F is associatedwith a respective regional site 16. Communication lines 24A-24F areterrestrial-based lines. As will be further described below, all of thefunctions performed at the regional facilities may be controlledcentrally at the central facility 14 as long as the associatedcommunication line 24A-F is not interrupted. When a communication line24A-F is interrupted, each regional site 16A-F may operate autonomouslyso that uplink signals may continually be provided to the satellite 12.Each of the regional and central facilities includes a transmitting andreceiving antenna which is not shown for simplicity in FIG. 1.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the regional facilities 16A-16F of FIG. 1 areillustrated collectively as reference numeral 16. The regionalfacilities 16 may actually comprise two facilities that include aprimary site 40 and a diverse site 42. The primary site 40 may bereferred to as a primary broadcast center (PBC). As will be describedbelow, the central site 14 may also include a primary site and diversesite as is set forth herein. The primary site 40 and diverse site 42 ofboth the central and regional sites may be separated by at least 25miles, or, more even more such as, at least 40 miles. In one constructedembodiment, 50 miles was used. The primary site 40 includes a firstantenna 44 for transmitting and receiving signals to and from satellite12. Diverse site 42 also includes an antenna 46 for transmitting andreceiving signals from satellite 12.

Primary site 40 and diverse site 42 may also receive signals from GPSsatellites 50. GPS satellites 50 generate signals corresponding to thelocation and a precision timed signal that may be provided to theprimary site 40 through an antenna 52 and to the diverse site 42 throughan antenna 54. It should be noted that redundant GPS antennas (52A,B)for each site may be provided. In some configurations, antennas 44 and46 may also be used to receive GPS signals.

A precision time source 56 may also be coupled to the primary site 40and to the diverse site 42 for providing a precision time source. Theprecision time source 56 may include various sources such as coupling toa central atomic clock. The precision time source may be used to triggercertain events such as advertising insertions and the like.

The primary site 40 and the diverse site 42 may be coupled through acommunication line 60. Communication line 60 may be a dedicatedcommunication line. The primary site 40 and the diverse site 42 maycommunicate over the communication line using a video over internetprotocol (IP).

Various signal sources 64 such as an optical fiber line, copper line orsatellites may provide incoming signals 66 from the primary site 40 tothe diverse site 42. Incoming signal 66, as mentioned above, may betelevision signals. The television signals may be high-definitionsignals. The incoming signals 66 such as the television signal may berouted from the primary site 40 through the communication line 60 to thediverse site 42 in the event of a switchover whether the switchover ismanual or a weather-related automatic switchover. A manual switchover,for example, may be used during a maintenance condition.

In a terrestrial system, the satellites may be eliminated or replaced bytransmission towers that use terrestrial antennas in place of antennas46. In a cable system, the antennas 46 may be replaced with opticalfibers or copper wires.

Users 20 receive downlink signals 70 corresponding to the televisionsignals. Users 20 may include home-based systems or business-basedsystems. As illustrated, a user 20 has a receiving antenna 72 coupled toan integrated receiver decoder (IRD) 74 that processes the signals andgenerates audio and video signals corresponding to the received downlinksignal 70 for display on the television or monitor 76. It should also benoted that satellite radio receiving systems may also be used in placeof the IRD 74. The integrated receiver decoder may be incorporated intoor may be referred to as a set top box.

The user 20 may also be a mobile user. The user 20 may therefore beimplemented in a mobile device or portable device. The portable device80 may include but are not limited to various types of devices such as alaptop computer 82, a personal digital assistant 84, a cellulartelephone 86 or a portable media player 88.

Referring now to FIGS. 3A and 3B, a ground segment system 100 forprocessing content and forming an output signal is illustrated. Onemethod for providing content is using file-based content 102. Thefile-based content 102 may be in various standard formats such asCableLabs® content, digital video disks or the like. The file-basedcontent 102 is provided to a content repository 104 that stores thevarious file-based content. If needed, a content processing system 106processes the content and converts the format of the file-based content.The content processing system 106 may convert the video compressionformat, the resolution, the audio compression format and audio bit ratesto match the target broadcast path. The content from the contentrepository 104 may be provided to various systems as will be describedbelow. The content repository 104 may also receive tape-based content108. The tape-based content 108 may be processed in the contentprocessing system 106 into various formats including a first format suchas high-definition, serial digital interface (HD-SDI) format. Thecontent repository 104 may provide content to baseband video servers114. The (P) and the (B) in the FIG. denote a primary and secondary orback-up baseband video server. The content repository 104 may alsoprovide signals to various service access processing systems 116. Asillustrated, several service access processing systems (SAPS) areillustrated. Both primary and back-up service access processing systems116 may be provided in the various chains.

An automation system 120 may control the insertion of variousadvertising into file-based and live streams. The SAPS 116 may functionas an advertising insertion module. The SAPS 116 may also include adigital video effects insertion module described below. The function ofthe automation system 120 will be further described below.

Content repository 104 may also be coupled to a compressed video server(CVS) 122 and an advertising-insertion server (AIS) 124. The compressedvideo server 122 uses content that is retrieved from the contentrepository 104. The content repository 104 stores the content well inadvance of use by the compressed video server 122. Likewise, advertisingmay be also drawn from the content repository 104. Both the contentvideo server 122 and ad-insertion server 124 provide content in acompressed manner. This is in contrast to the baseband video server 114that is provided content in a baseband. The output of the content videoserver may be in an IP transport stream. The content output of thecompressed video server 122 and the ad-insertion server 124 may beprovided to a local area network 130.

A traffic scheduling system (TSS) 132 schedules the content throughoutthe ground segment 100. The traffic scheduling system 132 generatesbroadcast schedules utilized by the baseband video servers 114, theservice access processing system 116, the automation system 120, thecompressed video server 122 and the ad-insertion server 124. The trafficand scheduling system 132 provides program-associated data (PAD) to ascheduled PAD server (SPS) 134. The SPS 134 delivers theprogram-associated data to an advanced broadcast controller (ABC) 136.As will be described below, an advanced broadcast management system(ABMS) 500 illustrated in FIG. 5 is used to monitor and control thecontent.

The traffic and scheduling system 132 may also be in communication withan advanced program guide system 138.

A live content source 40 delivered by way of a satellite optical fiberor copper wires couple live content to an L-band distribution androuting system 142. Of course, those skilled in the art will recognizevarious other frequencies may be used for the L-band. The output of therouting system 42 may be provided to ingest channels 150, turnaroundchannels 152, occasional channels 154, and continental United Stateslocal collection facility channels 156. Each of the various channels150-156 may represent a number of channels. Each of the channels hasprimary and secondary or back-up circuitry for processing the datastream.

The output of the L-band distribution and routing system 142 providesignals to receivers 160. As mentioned above, the paths may be inprimary or secondary paths. The receivers 160 receive the feed signalfrom the L-band distribution and routing system 142 and demodulate thefeed signal. The receiver may also provide decryption. The feed signalmay be in an ATSC-compliant transport stream from terrestrial fiber orsatellite sources. The feed signal may also be a DVD-compliant transportstream delivered via satellite or fiber. The signal may also include adigicipher-compliant transport stream, a JPEG 2000 transport stream orvarious proprietary formats from various content providers. The outputof the receiver may be provided via an ASI or MPEG IP interface.

Should the content from the content provider be provided in a formatthat can be immediately used by the system, the receiver may be replacedwith a pass-through connector such as a barrel connector.

The receive signal from the receiver 160 is provided to decoders 162.The decoders 162 decode the receive signal to provide decoded signals.The receive signal may still be compressed and, thus, the decoder may beused for decoding the live compressed video and audio content. Thereceive signal may be an ATSC-compliant transport stream, aDVD-compliant transport stream, a digicipher-compliant transport stream,a JPEG 2000 transport stream or various proprietary formats that may bedelivered via ASI or MPEG/IP. The output of the decoder is a basebandsignal that may be in a variety of formats such as a high definitionserial digital interface (HD-SDI) format. The decoders 162 may alsoinclude a general purpose interface used to convey add trigger eventsvia contact closures. The input may be delivered directly from anupstream receiver, a conversion box that converts dual-tonemulti-frequency tones from the upstream receiver into the generalpurpose interface. The audio format may carry various types of audiostreams including Dolby digital, Dolby E or PCM audio. More than onetype of audio stream may be included for a signal. The house signal mayalso include Society of Cable Telecommunication Engineers (SCTE)standard 104 and 35 messages. The house signal may also include closedcaptioning and vertical interval time code (VITC). It is possible thatthe decoder may not be required if the content provided from the livecontent sources is in the proper format. Therefore, the decoder is anoptional piece of equipment.

For the occasional channels 154, the output of the decoders 162 may beprovided to an occasional HD-SDI routing system 164. Of course, theoutput of the receiver 152 may be routed rather than the output of thedecoder 152. An occasional channel is a live turnaround channel thatonly exists long enough to carry one or more events, typically sportingevents such as those in the NFL or NBA. The type of receiver formattingor authorizations may vary depending on the type of event. Only a smallnumber of receivers are used for these types of events. The routingsystem 164 allows a proper allocation of downstream equipment inproportion to the number of active broadcast channels rather than thenumber of content providers.

The output of the decoders 162 in the ingest channels 150, theturnaround channels 152, and the CONUS local collection facilitychannels 156 are each provided to the SAPS 116. The SAPS 116 providebaseband processing which may include conversion to a house format andad-insertion. The SAPS 116 receives a single HD-SDI signal from eachdecoder 162. It is possible that the decoder and the SAPS may becombined in one unit. The service access processing system SAPS 116 mayextract and reinsert various audio streams, such as PCM, Dolby digital,or Dolby E audio. The SAPS 116 may also transcode the signals in thecase where a different coding scheme is required. Various operationalmodes may also be incorporated into the SAPS 116 including framesynchronization, error concealment, and the use of variable incoming bitrates. The SAPS 116 may also support real time changes in the videoformat. The video format may, for example, be 1080p, 1080i, 720p, and480p.

Server-based channels 170 may also be included in the system.Server-based channels 170 include a baseband video server 114 thatreceives content from the content repository 104.

The primary and back-up baseband video servers 114 of the server-basedchannels 170 may be coupled to a receiver transfer unit (RTU) 176 whichacts as a switch-to-switch between primary and back-up signals. Theprimary and back-up service access processing system of the turnaroundchannels 152, the occasional channels 154, and the remote collectionfacility channels 156 may all be coupled to a receiver transfer unit176. The receiver transfer unit 176 performs various functions includingredundancy switching or selection for choosing between the primary andthe back-up outputs of the baseband video server 114 or the serviceaccess processing system 116 and providing the chosen signal to anencoder 182. The receiver transfer units 176 may also route the signalsfor monitoring and redundancy to an HD-SDI monitoring system 186. Thereceiver transfer units 176 may provide an automatic redundancy mode inwhich the unit fails to a back-up input upon loss of a primary inputsignal. The RTU 176 may also be implemented so that a switch back fromthe back-up to the primary unit may not be automatically performedwithout manual intervention. The receiver transfer unit 176 may be aswitch that is controlled by the advanced broadcast management system300 (of FIG. 5) to generate an output signal. In the case of a failureof one of the encoders 182, a routing system 186 may be used to routethe signal through a back-up encoder 190.

The HD-SDI routing system 186 may provide a plurality of back-upencoders for the various channels. A number of back-up encoders may beprovided based on the number of primary encoders. In one example, threeback-up encoders for every primary encoder were provided.

The encoders 182 and the encoders 190 encode the video audioclosed-captioned data VITC and SCTE 35 data associated within a singlechain. The output of the encoder is a single program transport streamthat is provided by way of an MPEG-IP interface. The single programtransport stream (SPTS) is coupled to a local area network 130. Thelocal area network 130 may include a plurality of routers 192 that areused to route the single port transport streams to an uplink signalprocessing system (USPS) 200. Several uplink signal processing systems200 may be provided. This may include a secondary or back-up USPS thatwill be referred to as an engineering USPS 200′. The single programtransport stream includes identification of the signal so that it may beproperly routed to the proper uplink signal processing system. Theuplink signal processing system 200 generates an output to an uplink RFsystem (URFS) 202 that includes a power amplifier. The uplink signalprocessing system 200 may also provide redundant pairs to increase thereliability of the output signal.

The uplink signal processing system 200 may include a multiplexingsplicing system (MSS) 210, an advance transport processing system (ATPS)212, and a modulator 214. Pairs of multiplexing splicing systems 210,advance transport processing systems 212, and modulators 214 may beprovided for redundancy. The multiplexing splicing system 210multiplexes the single program transport stream from the local areanetwork 130 into a multiplexed transport stream (MPTS). The MSS 210 mayalso act to insert advertising into the signal. Thus, the MSS 210 actsas a multiplexing module and as an ad insertion module. Various numbersof single-program transport streams may be multiplexed. In oneconstructed embodiment, eight single program transport streams weremultiplexed at each MSS 210. The ads to be inserted at the MSS 210 maybe formatted in a particular format such as MPEG 4 format and havevarious types of digital including Dolby digital audio streams. The MSS210 may identify insertion points based on SCTE 35 in the incomingstream. The advance transport processing system 212 converts theDVB-compliant transport stream from the MSS 210 into an advancedtransport stream such as the DIRECTV A3 transport stream. The ATPS 212may support either ASI or MPEG output interface for the broadcast path.Thus, the ATPS 212 acts as an encryption module. The ATPS 212 may acceptdata from the advanced broadcast controller 136 and the advanced programguide system 138. The ATPS 212 may also be coupled to a data broadcastsystem 226. The data from the ABC 136, the APGS 138, and the DBS 226 aremultiplexed into the output transport stream. Thus, the ATPS 212 acts asa data encryption module. As will be described below, the ATPS may alsobe coupled to the advanced broadcast management system described belowin FIG. 4. Error reporting to the advanced broadcast management system(300 in FIG. 5) may include transport level errors, video outages, audiooutages, loss of connection from a redundancy controller or a datasource, or a compression system controller.

The modulators 214 modulate the transport stream from the ATPS 212 andgenerate an RF signal at a frequency such as an L-band frequency.

An RF switch 216 is coupled to the primary modulator and back-upmodulator 214. The RF switch provides one output signal to the uplink RFsystem 202.

The ATPS 212 may also receive information or data from a DBS 234. TheDBS 234 provides various types of data to be inserted into thebroadcast. The data information is provided to the ATPS 212 to beinserted into the program stream. A content distribution system 236 mayalso be used to couple information to the ATPS. The content distributionsystem may provide various information such as scheduling information,or the like. The content repository 104 may also be directly coupled tothe ATPS for providing various types of information or data.

Referring back to the front end of the ground segment 100, a CONUS localcollection facility (CLCF) 226 may be used to collect live contentrepresented by box 228 at a content-provider site or delivered to theCLCF 226 by way of a fiber. A plurality of encoders 230 may be used toencode the signals in a useable format by the system. The encodersignals may be provided to a backhaul internet protocol network 232 andprovided to a decoder 162 within the CLCF channels 156 or to a receiver160 in the CLCF. As mentioned above, if the content is formatted in ausable format, the receiver 160 may not be required. Should the receiverfunction be required, a receiver may be used in the system.

Several uplink signal processing systems 200 may be provided for any onesystem. Each of the uplink signal processing systems may correspond to asingle transponder on a single satellite. Thus, the combined singleprogram transport streams received at the multiplex splicing system 210are combined to fit on a single transponder.

A back-up or engineering uplink system processing system 200′ may alsobe provided. The engineering uplink signal processing system 200′ mayhave the same components as the USPS 200. The engineering USPS 200′ maybe used as a substitute for a particular transponder should one of theprimary USPS fail for any reason.

The ABMS system 324 may be used to monitor various portions of thesystem including the each of the components of the USPS 200, the RTU andBVS or automation system. Monitor may be generated from the variouscomponent and control signals generated to the components. As mentionedabove, the USPS 200 may include a multiplexer. The multiplexer may beused for inserting a slide due to technical difficulty at a componentsuch as the encoders 330. A slide insertion signal may be generated inresponse. This will also be described further below.

The ABMS system 324 may also be in communication with the RTU switch176. The switch 176 may be monitored to determine whether the primary orback-up automation system is broadcasting.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a block diagrammatic view of a triggeringinsertion system formed according to the present disclosure is setforth. In this embodiment, elements of FIGS. 3A and 3B are labeled thesame. Also, the automation system 120 in FIG. 3 has been incorporated inthe place of the baseband video server (BVS) 114 illustrated in FIG. 3Asince the automation system and the BVS may function together. Thesystem illustrated in FIG. 4 includes further details for insertinginsertion material and monitoring insertion material such ascommercials, promotional materials and slides. The system set forth inFIG. 4 is particularly suitable for insertion of material into livechannel streams.

An encoder 300 such as an MPEG2 encoder may be used to receive materialfrom outside sources into an export producer 302. The export producer302 communicates insert content such as commercial spots, slides orpromotional material to a workflow system 304. The workflow system 304communicates the content to the content repository 104 where it isstored therein. The workflow system 304 may generate an insert materialidentifier such as an ISCI (Industry Standard Commercial Identifier) forcommercial or promotional spots. A typical ISCI identifier formatincludes an alphabetic identifier identifying the source and a numericidentifier identifying the spot number. The workflow system 304 may alsoreceive content such as pay-per-view content which is assigned amaterial ID at the workflow system 304. The material ID and the ISCI maybe assigned by the traffic scheduling system 132.

The traffic scheduling system 132 may also set schedules for insertionof various insert materials into broadcast programming. Programming orbreak windows may be assigned for the insertion of the insertionmaterial. The break windows may also be manually inserted by a systemoperator. Thus, the schedules may include the time window and the insertmaterial identification.

The schedules may be communicated through a web services server 310 tothe automation system 120. Both the back-up and primary automationsystem 120 may receive the web services' command or schedule. The webservices server 310 may be used to assign the automation servers to aparticular channel. For example, a control channel identifier CCID maybe assigned to a particular automation system 120 that has an automationsystem address such as “1000.” Both an “a” and “b” address may be usedfor the primary and back-up automation systems 120.

A router 320 may be used to route various material through the system.The router 320 may be used to communicate content and insert material tothe automation system 120. The automation system 120 may communicatevideo information through a video LAN connection (VLAN) 322 to therouter 320 where it may be monitored through an advanced basebandmonitoring system (ABMS) 324. The ABMS system 324 may include displaysfor displaying various signals and controlling various signals.

The automation system 120 may receive triggers such as a general purposeinterface (GPI) trigger, a Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers(SCTE) 104 trigger or a digital program insertion interface (DPI)trigger. Such triggers may be included in the vertical ancillary portion(VANC) data portion of the received signal. The trigger data may includemetadata regarding the timing and length of the break. A pre-roll timemay be included in the trigger metadata. The pre-roll time is a timecorresponding to the time until a break occurs. By communicating thepre-roll time to the automation system the insert material may beretrieved and used.

A remote monitor 326 may also be coupled to the router 320. The remotemonitor 326 may be used to receive monitoring signals that may bemonitored from a remote site. For example, the remote monitor 326 may belocated in the home of a supervisor or the like. The remote monitor, aswill be further described below, may be accessed through the internetupon a proper authentication.

The above-specified system may be used for both pay-per-view and livecontent signal streams. In a live content signal stream, content isreceived through the content sources 140 and received at receiver 160.The received signals are decoded at the decoders 162 which are thenprovided to the automation system 120. For a pay-per-view contentstream, the content is retrieved from the content repository 104 andprovided to the automation system 120 without the need for receiving anddecoding. As will be described below, the automation system 120 may thenbe used to insert insertion material into a channel signal stream. Aswill be described below, the monitoring system may be used to monitorthe signals. The automation system 120 may be used to monitor thechannel signals and the channel signals with the insertion informationor insertion insert material.

The automation system 120 provides these signals through the remotetransfer units 176, through the encoders 330, through the LAN 192through the uplink signal processing system 200 and through the uplinkRF system 202 which generates an uplink signal. Components 176, 192, 200and 202 were described thoroughly above.

The system may also include a billing module 350. The billing module 350is shown in communication with the traffic scheduling system 132.However, the billing module 350 may also be in direct communication withthe workflow system 304, the router 320 or the automation system 120.The billing system is used to bill insert material providers such asclients 352 for inserting their insert material into the content signal.

As will be described below, the insert material provider, such asadvertisers, pay to have insert material inserted into the contentstream. The clients may receive deviation messages if an insert wasunplayed. In response to the deviation message, an authorizationreschedule signal may be generated so the insert is rescheduled.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a method of operating the system illustrated inFIG. 4 is set forth. In this embodiment, insertion material is receivedat box 410. Insert material may be received through the export producer302 illustrated in FIG. 4.

In step 412, an insert material identification is provided. If theinsert material is a commercial, the ISCI standard may be used forassigning the insert material identification prior to receiving theinsert material or after receiving the insert material. In step 414, theinsert material is stored in the content repository 104.

In step 416, the traffic scheduling system 132 of FIG. 4 generates aninsertion schedule. As mentioned above, the insertion schedule mayinclude a window for inserting the particular insert material based onthe identification. In step 418, the insertion material is communicatedto the automation server 120 of FIG. 4.

In step 420, content is received either through the receiver and decoderor from the content repository in the instance of pay-per-view. Thecontent may include triggers that are used to trigger the insertion ofthe insertion material. Examples of triggers include Society of CableTelecommunications Engineers (SCTE) 104 compliant, a digital programinsertion (DPI) trigger or a general purpose interface (GPI) trigger. Instep 422, the content may be monitored through the ABMS 324 or remotemonitor 326 illustrated in FIG. 4.

Based upon the insert schedule in the automation server, insert materialmay be retrieved by the automation server and stored therein. This maybe performed a certain length of time before the insert material isrequired for insertion into the channel stream. This may occur minutesor hours before the insert material is required. Retrieving may beperformed in response to the pre-roll time in the metadata of thetrigger.

In step 426, if a trigger has not been reached, the system continues toplay out the channel signal. In step 426, if a trigger has been reached,the insert material is inserted in step 428.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a first system for monitoring live signals isillustrated. In this configuration, the receiver 160 and the decoder 162are common to FIG. 4. Likewise, the ABMS system 324 and the remotemonitor 326 are also common. In this embodiment, one method formonitoring the live signal may be I-frame capture.

The live signal is received by the receiver 160 and the decoder 162 toform a decoded signal. The signal may then be communicated to theautomation system 120 where it is demultiplexer at demultiplexer 510.The signal may also undergo a digital-to-analog conversion after thedemultiplexing of the signal at the demultiplexer 510. Thedigital-to-analog conversion may be used since the signal from thedecoder 162 may be a serial digital interface signal. More specifically,the signal from the decoder may be a high-definition serial digitalinterface signal. The digital-to-analog converter 512 converts thedigital signal to an analog signal and provides the analog signal to adecoder 514. The decoder 514 may be coupled or in communication with anI-frame capture module 516 that captures an I-frame of the analogsignal. The I-frame capture module 516 may process the I-frame signaland routes the signal through the router 320 to a display 520. Thedisplay 520 may display the live channel signal 522 and the insertionmaterial or clip 524.

The automation system 120 may also include an insertion module 530 usedfor inserting the insertion material into the channel stream. Theinsertion module 530 may also provide a signal to the I-frame capturemodule 516 so that both the inserted material and the channel signal maybe provided and displayed on the display 520.

After the decoder and if insertion is performed at the insertion module530, the channel signal may be multiplexed in the multiplexer 540. Themultiplex signal is then provided to the encoder 330 described above.After the encoding at the encoder 330, the signal is ultimately passedto the uplink RF system 202 as described above in FIGS. 3A and 3B.

An authentication module 542 may also be provided to allow the remotemonitor 326 to access the system from a remote location. Theauthentication module 542 may require a password or other identificationto allow access to the system for monitoring or controlling variousfunctions.

Referring now to FIG. 7, the automation system 120 may also be used toconvert the channel signal to an MPEG encoded signal through the MPEGencoder 560. The MPEG encoder 560 replaces the I-frame capture module516 illustrated in FIG. 6. Thus, the remaining portions of the circuitryact in a similar manner and thus will not be described further. The MPEGencoder 560 may MPEG encode the channel signals and the modified channelsignals. A multicast address may be assigned to the signals and routedthrough the router 320. In a similar manner to that described above, thedisplay 520 may be used to display both the channel signal and themodified channel signal on the display portions 522 and 524,respectively. The router 320 may route the signals to the decoder 566.The decoder 566 may provide the signals to a display 572 that includes adisplay which displays the signals from the primary automation system574, the back-up automation system 576, the channel signal 580 and adownlinked signal corresponding to the channel signal at the downlinkdisplay 582. The display 572 may be part of the ABMS system.

Referring now to FIG. 8, a method of monitoring a live signal andreturning to the live signal should the event return early is set forth.This may be suitable when a station has a break for a live sportingevent but returns prior to the end of the break to capture or displaypart of the event. This method may be used to avoid not broadcastingpart of the event. In step 610, insert material may be inserted into alive event during a break. The break may be triggered by an SCTE 104signal, a DPI signal or a GPI signal. However, the break may be manuallyinserted as well. Manual insertion may be likely for live events. Instep 612, the modified content signal is broadcast over the air. In step612, the modified channel signal and the unmodified channel signal maybe monitored in step 612. If the break does not end prior to theinsertion, step 612 continues to monitor the system. In step 614, if thebreak ends prior to the end of the insertion material, step 616 isperformed which communicates a termination message to the automationsystem. This may be performed automatically using the ABMS system or themonitoring system. This may also be performed manually by selecting abutton or the like on a control terminal under the control of a systemoperator. In step 618, the insertion material is discontinued.Thereafter, the channel signal or unmodified channel signal iscommunicated so that it is broadcast through the system in step 620.

Referring now to FIG. 9, a method for operating the automation systems120 of FIG. 4 is illustrated. The method sets forth a method fortracking content within the automation system.

In step 710, a traffic schedule that is channel-based is generated atthe traffic scheduling system. The traffic schedule may be an originalschedule or may be a delta schedule communicating a difference orvariation in the traffic schedule. The traffic schedule may be deliveredto the automation system independent of the schedule of the contentchannel. In step 712 the schedule is appended to the schedule in theautomation system. If only a partial schedule has been received in step714, the different portions of the schedule are replaced in step 716. Instep 714, if a partial schedule has not been received, or after step716, an as-run log for the automation servers for each channel isgenerated in step 718. It should be noted that the traffic schedules maybe communicated well in advance of the actual air times. For example,the schedules may be sent 24-48 hours in advance. The generation of theas-run logs at the automation servers will be further described below inFIGS. 10-12. The as-run logs track the actual content communicatedthrough the automation system. Both the primary and the back-upautomation system may include an as-run log. Ultimately, a consolidatedas-run log may be communicated to the billing system so that properbilling for a particular client may be performed.

The as-run logs may be stored at the automation system in step 720.

In step 722, the as-run logs may be communicated to the trafficscheduling system (TSS) and ultimately to the billing system asmentioned above. In step 724, if a failure of communication of theas-run logs is provided, step 726 sends an alarm to the monitoringsystem.

After step 726 and if no failure is generated at step 724, step 728 maybe used to clear the automation system. In step 728, the trafficscheduling system may generate a wipe-list and communicate the wipe-listto the automation system. The wipe-list may be used to purge metadataand the content cache within the automation system. Before the variouscontent is deleted, step 730 determines whether a clip is in theschedule. If a clip is not in the schedule, the metadata and contentcache is purged in step 732. Step 734 then ends the process.

Referring back to step 730, if the clip is in a schedule, an invalidwipe-list message is generated in step 736. This prevents the metadata,content cache and any clips stored therein from being deleted.

Referring now to FIG. 10, a consolidated as-run log is illustrated. Theas-run log contains a number of rows 812-820. Each row is an entrycorresponding to an event. It should be noted that the as-run log isonly a small portion of a potential as-run log that may span for hoursor days. Each row may contain various types of information. Theinformation may include more or less information as is set forth in theexample of FIG. 10.

The consolidated as-run log 810 may include various columns that includethe user channel number or other type of channel identifier such as thecontent channel identifier (CCID). The output channel may also be partof this information.

The scheduled start time and the scheduled end time may also be part ofthe as-run log. Acknowledgments and other information may also beprovided. A description of the channel may also be provided in theas-run log.

An event type corresponding to the type of event in the as-run log maybe set forth. For example, the primary A channel may be set forth. Otherinformation, such as advertising information, logos, stills, captions,voiceovers, conditional access or crawl information may be provided.Another column in the as-run log may be an actual start time. The actualstart time and the scheduled start time may not correspond exactly dueto transmission variances. A material ID may also be provided. An actualduration of the content may also be provided. The actual duration mayillustrate that a particular piece of content, although starting ontime, did not finish due to another event. A status message such assuccess or failure may also be provided. A pair status may also beprovided to convey which of the primary or back-up automation systemswere used for the on-air signal. As mentioned above, this will allow thebilling for the various content to be reconciled.

Referring now to FIG. 11A, a simplified primary log 900 is illustratedhaving various times and illustrating on-air and off-air portions. Aback-up log 902 illustrated in FIG. 11B has the same times; however, atthe off-air times, the primary log is on-line.

The combination of FIGS. 11A and 11B are illustrated in FIG. 11C. FIG.11C illustrates a consolidated log formed from the primary log 900 andthe back-up log 902. The consolidated log 904 has various time frameswith a notation of whether the primary or back-up automation system wasused in the process. It should be noted that FIGS. 11A-11C have beensimplified. Various other types of data may be provided as mentionedabove in FIG. 10.

Referring now to FIG. 12, a method for generating the as-run logs isillustrated. The method set forth in FIG. 12 corresponds generally tostep 718 of FIG. 9.

In step 1010, the status of the RTU switch is monitored. If the switchstatus has been changed in step 1012, a switch message to the automationsystem to update the as-run log is generated. The monitoring may takeplace at the advance broadcast management system 324. The message may betransmitted from the ABMS system to the automation system through therouter 320. By monitoring a change in the switch status, the properautomation system may ultimately identified in the consolidated as-runlog.

Another change to the run log may be performed by monitoring the encoderin step 1016. If an encoder is not operating properly, the automationsystem, without anything further, would not know. Therefore, the ABMSsystem 324 monitors the encoder and generates a message to theautomation system. The ABMS system may be used to insert a slide at themultiplexer of the USPS 200 upon a problem or error at the encoder 330.When a slide is inserted, a slide insertion signal may be generated. Instep 1018, if a slide has been inserted, a message is generated to theautomation system to update the run log in step 1020. If a slide has notbeen inserted in step 1018 or after step 1020, step 1022 updates theas-run log. After the as-run log is generated for both the primary andback-up automation systems, a consolidated run log may be generated instep 1024. The consolidated run log may contain only the on-air portionsof the content signal. The run log will contain which automation systemwas used and whether or not the encoder was operating properly. Byknowing when the encoder is not operating properly, a properdetermination as to whether a client should be billed for the particularadvertising may be made.

Referring now to FIG. 13, a method for real time reconciliation isillustrated. The present method for real time reconciliation may be usedfor various types of material including on-line material, in addition tothe satellite television broadcasting example set forth above. In step1110, a pre-break window and a post-break window are generated in ascheduling system. In step 1112, if a trigger is not received within thepre-break window (pre and post), step 1116 is performed which generatesa schedule deviation message. In step 1112, if the trigger was receivedwithin the break window, the run log is updated in step 1114 asdescribed above. A manual skip or bypass generated by an operator mayalso be used to skip a trigger. Therefore, in step 1118, if a manualskip is generated, step 1116 is performed.

In step 1116, a schedule deviation message or signal is generated.Thereafter, if the business rules allow for a rescheduling, the businessrules reschedule the insert material in step 1112. The rescheduling ofthe insert material may take place at the scheduling system. The updatedschedule is then conveyed to the automation system where the automationsystem is updated. If a business rule does not allow for the reschedulein step 1120, step 1126 may be performed. In step 1126 a deviationmessage may be communicated to a client through the billing module 350described above. The client 352 of FIG. 4 may be given an opportunity toimmediately respond to the missed opportunity caused by the lack of atrigger within the break window. In step 1128, if the client respondspositively with an authorization to schedule signal, a reschedule of theinsert material is provided in step 1122. If the client does not respondpositively, the insert material is not rescheduled and thus the systemends in step 1124. As mentioned above, this embodiment may be used forthe rescheduling of commercial or other promotional material into acontent or channel stream. This may be performed for a satellitetelevision broadcasting system. However, this same method applies to theinternet or other forms of advertising. If, during a particular time,such as the time window, a pop-up ad or other type of advertising hasnot been displayed, a system similar to that described above may performreal time reconciliation to reschedule the insert based upon businessrules or based upon an authorization from the client.

Those skilled in the art can now appreciate from the foregoingdescription that the broad teachings of the disclosure can beimplemented in a variety of forms. Therefore, while this disclosureincludes particular examples, the true scope of the disclosure shouldnot be so limited since other modifications will become apparent to theskilled practitioner upon a study of the drawings, the specification andthe following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for processing content at a groundsegment that is separated from a user device through a networkcomprising: generating a pre-break window having a first-time durationand a post-break window having a second time duration at a schedulingsystem of the ground segment; receiving a content signal at anautomation system of the ground segment; generating a deviation signalat the automation system when an expected trigger for an insert materialis not within the pre-break window or the post-break window;rescheduling the insert material at the scheduling system in response tothe deviation signal; inserting the insert material into the contentsignal; and after rescheduling communicating the content signal with theinsert material from the ground segment to the user device through thenetwork.
 2. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising generatinga second pre-break window and a second post-break window in response torescheduling the insert material.
 3. A method as recited in claim 1further comprising communicating the pre-break window and the post-breakwindow to the automation system.
 4. A method as recited in claim 1wherein inserting comprises inserting the insert material into thecontent signal at the automation system.
 5. A method as recited in claim1 further comprising determining the expected trigger in response to aschedule.
 6. A method as recited in claim 5 further comprisinggenerating the schedule at the scheduling system and communicating theschedule to the automation system.
 7. A method as recited in claim 1further comprising manually removing the expected trigger.
 8. A methodas recited in claim 1 wherein rescheduling the insert material isperformed in response to a business rule.
 9. A method as recited inclaim 1 wherein rescheduling the insert material comprises communicatingthe deviation signal to a client, and obtaining an authorization toreschedule signal.
 10. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein thecontent signal comprises a television signal.
 11. A method as recited inclaim 1 wherein generating the deviation signal comprises generating thedeviation signal at the automation system.
 12. A method of processingcontent at a ground segment that is separated from a user device througha network comprising: storing insert material in a content repository;assigning an insert material identification to the insert material;generating an insertion schedule having a pre-break window having afirst-time duration and a post-break window having a second timeduration at the ground segment; communicating the insertion schedule toan automation system of the ground segment; retrieving the insertionmaterial from the content repository and storing content in theautomation system prior the pre-break window; communicating a contentsignal to the automation system; generating a deviation signal when anexpected trigger for the insert material is not within the pre-breakwindow or the post-break window; rescheduling the insert material;inserting the insert material into the content signal; and afterrescheduling communicating the content signal with the insert materialfrom the ground segment to the user device through the network.
 13. Amethod as recited in claim 12 further comprising generating a secondpre-break window and a second post-break window in response torescheduling the insert material.
 14. A method as recited in claim 13wherein generating an insertion schedule having the pre-break window andthe post-break window comprises generating the pre-break window and thepost-break window at a scheduling system.
 15. A method as recited inclaim 12 wherein inserting comprises inserting the insert material intothe content signal at the automation system.
 16. A method as recited inclaim 12 further comprising determining the expected trigger in responseto a schedule.
 17. A method as recited in claim 12 further comprisinggenerating the insertion schedule at the scheduling system andcommunicating the insertion schedule to the automation system.
 18. Amethod as recited in claim 12 further comprising manually removing theexpected trigger.
 19. A method as recited in claim 12 whereinrescheduling the insert material is performed in response to a businessrule.
 20. A method as recited in claim 12 wherein rescheduling theinsertion material comprises communicating the deviation signal to aclient, and obtaining an authorization to reschedule signal.
 21. Aground segment system that is in communication with a user devicethrough a network comprising: a scheduling system generating a pre-breakwindow and a post-break window; an automation system in communicationwith the scheduling system receiving a content signal and generating adeviation signal when an expected trigger for an insert material is notwithin the pre-break window or post-break window; and said schedulingsystem rescheduling the insert material in response to the deviationsignal; said automation system inserting the insert material into thecontent signal after rescheduling and communicating the content signalwith the insert material to the user device through the network.
 22. Asystem as recited in claim 21 wherein the automation system bypasses theexpected trigger.
 23. A system as recited in claim 21 wherein thescheduling system reschedules the insert material in response to abusiness rule.
 24. A system as recited in claim 21 wherein thescheduling system reschedules the insert material by communicating thedeviation signal to a client and obtaining an authorization toreschedule signal.